My Father’s wish was to see Rahul Gandhi as PM: Sharmila joins Congress

New Delhi: Y S Sharmila, founder of YSR Telangana Party, and sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy joined the Congress at AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday morning. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party president Rahul Gandhi were present on the occasion.

"My father’s wish was to see Rahul Gandhi as PM", said Sharmila after joining.

Will this political move be a game changer for Andhra Pradesh politics, a battle between the siblings?

Meanwhile, the party is yet to announce her position in the party.

Earlier when asked whether she is joining the Congress, Sharmila told reporters: "Yes, looks like it".

Is it a battle between siblings?

If she is given a position in the Andhra Pradesh Congress, it will trigger a political fight between the siblings in the poll-bound state.

Sources said Sharmila’s political aspirations were scuttled by her brother Jagan and she could not find space in the new scheme of things. For that reason, she came to Telangana. But the leaders of Telangana saw her as more of an AP face than that of the region.

For this reason, her entry into the Congress party was reserved till the Telangana election results.

Now that the Congress party has formed the government in Telangana, their target is AP and Sharmila is seen as the best bet.

Sources working with team Sharmila said: "Her entry is going to boost the morale of all those Congressmen who are presently lying dormant. She will be the factor to drive the Congress party in the state. Revival of the cadre is what is expected after the entry of Sharmila."

CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy, was first thrust into the spotlight when she joined her brother YS Jagan on the ‘Odarpu Yatra’ to console the families of her father’s supporters who had died of shock or committed suicide after his sudden demise. The then Congress leadership was unhappy with this yatra, which they saw as an attempt by Jagan to garner support for the CM post.

In 2011, Jagan quit Congress and formed YSRCP. Sharmila had to take charge of the party’s campaigning from 2012 to 2013 when Jagan was arrested by the CBI on charges of amassing illegal assets. After Jagan’s release, Sharmila continued to campaign for the YSRCP as the second most prominent leader of the party. It translated into a landslide victory in the 2019 elections.

Despite the election victory, the family relations reportedly were strained. There were reports of a fallout on the issue of assets and Sharmila shifted her base to Telangana.

In 2021, Sharmila launched the YSR Telangana Party with a promise to bring back her father’s legacy. A year later, Vijayamma, Sharmila’s mother resigned from her son Jagan’s YSRCP and joined her daughter’s new party. Sharmila has been touring Telangana on a padayatra, walking over 3,500 km to meet voters, even engaging in verbal fights with state leaders.